the last couple of days Chris' stools have become progressively looser. then last night came the urgency followed by loud diarrhea with a little glob of blood and mucous and tummy aching. sounds like a flare right? this would be the first one since diagnosis/treatment, and i'll be calling the GI here in a few minutes. the blood and mucous is significant of the ulcers right? not just inflammation?

also he took some antibiotics about a week or so ago for a sinus infection. think that was the cause? seem right for an "incubation" period for the ulcers to form? his diet hasn't really changed any lately, except that he's been wanting more bland foods the last few days. any input would be greatly appreciated.

(maybe this is a silly question, but...) do flares ever go away on their own? i am really not intrested in having my little steroid-speed-demon back, but whatever it takes...

i'm sure i'll have some more Q's soon.Veronica (26), mommy to Chris (2.5 yr old, diagnosed november 2007 with left sided UC) and Emily 2.5 months

Flares can go away on their own, but often that's after weeks, months or years of pain and bleeding. Not so good for a little guy.

Since children are on and off antibiotics a lot, probiotics may be your and Chris' best friends. They can re-populate the colon with good bacteria killed by the antibiotics and help prevent diarrhea and flaring. You can give them routinely and then increase the dosage when he's on antibiotics. I think most of the parents of young children here use Culturelle, which should be available at your pharmacy.

I'm sorry to hear he's sick and hope he gets through this quickly so he can go tend to his important business of play!

Judy

Moderate to severe left-sided UC (21 cm) diagnosed 2001.

Avascular necrosis in both shoulders is my "forever" gift from steroid therapy.

I would say doc call is in order for sure but I have also experienced flares after antibiotics. We have ticks galore and I have stage 3 kidney failure to boot so I get kidney infections A LOT. The stupid antibiotics cause irritation and diarrhea so that can tick UC off. I always seemed to settle down with in a few days without needing the steroids to get me back in check. I don't have any experience with how it works with kids tho. . . they tend to have faster and more serious reactions to things we adults can tolerate.

I have to be very, very careful with antibiotics, and I have only ever flared after taking them. Keflex and amoxicillin always do it. Cipro did it once. I also had a bad reaction to Flagyl. My current flare (one year) was brought on my amoxicilin.

(Probiotics do not seem to guard against this in my case.)

In your son's case, the timing is also right. A week to ten days after I'm done with antibiotics and it's blood and mucus all over the place.

Personally, I always wait about ten days after symptoms to see if it will go away on its own. Once or twice it has, more often than not it doesn't. If it were my two-year-old, I would not wait to seek medical attention, but I might try something else before I tried steroids, perhaps a course of enemas.

There is also some research that suggests a very quick steroid burst may help stop a flare brought on by antibiotics. You might mention it to your doctor.